Lost And Found Keeps Lenovo ThinkPads Safe

Losing the data contained on an enterprise notebook can be harmful to both an employee and the company.

Lenovo's new Lost and Found service is aimed at helping to ease the pain of losing a notebook while also helping it get back to the proper owner.

The Lost and Found functionality is available only to Lenovo ThinkPads that are equipped with Absolute Software's Computrace. In the event that a ThinkPad is lost, the Computrace software can be activated. Once the software is turned on, the PC will provide a phone number that someone who finds the notebook can call to have the hardware returned.

A returned laptop can ultimately save a business thousands of dollars. According to a study conducted by Ponemon Institute in April of this year, the average cost of a lost laptop is $49,246. The study found that 80 percent of the cost comes from a data breach.

The Lenovo Lost and Found is part of the subscription fee a user pays to Absolute Software and is, essentially, an additional feature the company provides.

If a ThinkPad gets lost, there are two ways that someone who wants to return the device can do so. First, there is a sticker that can be put on a ThinkPad that provides the essential information for returning the notebook.

However, redundancy is nice, and Computrace also includes a feature that can lock the notebook if it is turned on while providing a dialogue box informing someone who turned it on that the device is lost and showing the proper steps to get the hardware back into its owner's hands.

The process of having a lost PC returned is straightforward. The owner of the lost machine flags the notebook with Absolute Software to have the ThinkPad lock if it is turned on. Once the device is on, a message can be displayed on the screen providing a toll-free number that can be called to return the laptop. Lenovo fields the call and verifies the registration on the notebook. The hardware vendor then sends a pre-paid shipping box to the individual who found the notebook, which is then shipped back to Lenovo. The ThinkPad will finally be sent to the owner, who unlocks the device and can begin using it again.